At the UN, Silence Was Not an Option

I went to the United Nations knowing it would not be a comfortable week.

In light of the UN’s recent decision to blacklist Israel, some might ask why an Israeli organization would choose to show up there at all.

For me, the answer was clear.

Because sometimes, showing up is the statement.

Beit Issie Shapiro has held Special Consultative Status with the UN ECOSOC since 2012. Through that platform, we work to influence policy, share knowledge, and help shape the way societies around the world include people with disabilities.

But this year, our presence carried a different weight.

We came to New York for COSP19, the UN Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We came as an Israeli organization, alongside official Israeli representatives, at a time when Israel’s place on the world stage is especially difficult.

We did not come because the room was friendly.

We came because Israel’s voice needed to be there.

At a time when Israel is being judged so harshly, I felt an even greater responsibility to stand in that room and represent something deeply true about our country: its humanity, its innovation, its civil society, and its commitment to people even in the hardest moments.

I felt the honor of representing Israel in a place that is often hostile to us. I also felt the responsibility of being a voice for many Israelis and Jews around the world who have watched the UN speak about human rights while too often failing to apply moral clarity when it comes to Israel.

That is a painful truth.

But it must be said.

During the week, Beit Issie hosted a side event together with the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations and Israel’s Commission for Equal Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We spoke about preparedness, protection, and response for persons with disabilities in times of emergency.

It is a topic Israel understands in real life.

Over the past years, we have seen children and adults with complex disabilities continue to receive therapy under sirens. We have seen families trying to protect their loved ones while living with fear, uncertainty, and disrupted services. At Beit Issie, we learned that in crisis, support cannot wait for people to ask for it. We reached out directly, found ways to keep essential therapies and guidance going, and gave families, professionals, and people with disabilities practical tools they could use in the moment they needed them most.

This is what Israeli civil society looks like at its best.

It is not resilience as a slogan.

It is action.

It is a system choosing not to forget the people who are easiest to overlook.

This is the Israel I came to represent.

Not perfect. Not simple. But deeply committed to life, dignity, and responsibility.

The most personal moment came at the end of the week, when I was invited to address the UN General Assembly.

The session took place at the end of a three-day conference, with other events happening at the same time. I did not expect the room to be full.

But it was.

About 150 people were there, with more watching online. During my statement, no one left. I could feel people listening.

I began by speaking about a place that proudly calls for equality, dignity, inclusion, and protection for the most vulnerable.

Then I said: I am speaking about Israel.

I knew it would take a moment for people to understand where I was going. But I wanted them to hear something they do not hear often enough in that room.

Israel’s moral commitment is not theoretical.

It is lived every day by people who keep rehabilitation centers open under fire, move therapies into shelters, and continue serving children and adults with disabilities in the middle of war.

And then I said what I felt needed to be said.

That an institution that speaks the language of human rights cannot allow truth to become negotiable.

That it cannot create false equivalence between a democratic country defending its citizens and terrorist organizations that target civilians.

That silence is not neutrality.

For those of us working in disability rights, this matters deeply.

Because equality is not only about services. It is not only about access.

It is about recognizing human dignity clearly, consistently, and without distortion.

You cannot advocate for inclusion in one place while accepting false equivalence in another.

You cannot speak about protecting the vulnerable while failing to distinguish between those who target civilians and those who protect them.

So I called on the nations in the room:
“Have the courage to speak clearly.
Have the courage to reject false equivalence.
Have the courage to defend truth, even when it is uncomfortable, even when it is unpopular.
Because without that, everything we say here about equal rights becomes empty.”

When I finished, there was applause.

It was not a standing ovation, and it did not need to be.

What mattered most came afterward.

People told me they felt pride. They said this was the kind of voice they wanted to hear from Israel. They said it was brave to say these things at the UN. They said these were the words many people were thinking, but needed someone to say out loud.

I do not see that as personal praise.

I see it as a sign of how much people are looking for moral clarity.

That is why leaving the room is not an option.

If Israeli civil society steps back from international spaces, we allow others to define who we are. We allow the world to miss the Israel that builds, heals, innovates, and continues to care for the most vulnerable, even under fire.

Being a light unto the nations is not about claiming perfection. It is about taking responsibility. It is about using what we have learned, even through pain, to help others. It is about standing for truth while building a more just world.

At Beit Issie Shapiro, we will continue to show up: for Israel, for people with disabilities, and for the values that make a society truly human.

Even when the room is uncomfortable.

Especially then.